Just two teams have gone back-to-back as Cup champs since 2000. Here are the cases for and against Vegas becoming the third.
At times, the Golden Knights made earning those 16 wins look easy. But will Vegas' playoff run appear as effortless as it attempts to repeat as Cup champion?
The notable differences this season were in goal differential , expected goals and scoring chances per game . Vegas' goaltending struggled more this season than last as well -- the Golden Knights had a collective save percentage of .902 , were 20th in goals saved above expectations and 11th in goals against.
If it weren't for Vegas' strong start, the overall numbers would be trending further from where the Golden Knights perched a year ago in most categories.
Before a team wins a Stanley Cup, it faces questions about if it is good enough to win it all. Once the team wins, though, it is no longer a secret. It's now about how does the team continue to win while knowing everyone is trying to figure out ways to not only beat it, but have the answers over a seven-game series if it gets to that point.
That's not to say lower seeds cannot pull off upsets. It happened twice in the opening round of last year's playoffs when the wild-card
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